


Life Without War

by baz_is_a_skeez



Category: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-08-07 23:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7733275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baz_is_a_skeez/pseuds/baz_is_a_skeez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veronica and JD meet as children. JD's dad doesn't move around so much. When his mother dies, she's there for him. He's not alone. He's still ridiculously fucked up, but at least he has someone to keep him sane. He's actually somewhat normal. They're happy together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nine

**Author's Note:**

> All these are from my tumblr (jdronica.tumblr.com), where I'm taking prompts for an age to write about! They're in order of when I wrote them, not in order of how old they are, so the story doesn't have a continuous flow, but it'll come together more as I write more :)
> 
> anyway they're nine here and third grade jd is pretentious as fuck lmao

“This is the boringest book I’ve ever read,” Veronica whined. She was lying on her back, her legs dangling off the edge of her bed. JD lay on his stomach next to her, invested in his own larger, much denser book. She tossed hers to the ground in frustration and grabbed a pillow, holding it to her face and groaning loudly into it. 

“Boringest isn’t a word,” JD said, not looking up from his book. _“It’s most boring.”_

Veronica groaned again, throwing the pillow on the ground next to the book. “I don’t care. I hate school.” 

JD sighed. “They don’t care. We’re helpless victims of the institution.” 

Veronica wrinkled her nose. “What’s an institution?” 

JD laughed. “It’s a business. You should read more.”

“I _do_ read a lot. I just read Where the _Sidewalk Ends._ I read the whole thing in two days,” She said proudly. “That’s for little kids,” JD said, rolling his eyes. “We _are_ kids!" She argued. "You just talk like a grown up, ‘cause you’re weird.”

“Yeah, but which one of us is reading sixth grade level books?” JD said smugly, a proud smirk on his face.

Veronica’s jaw dropped open in offense. “You did not just say that!” she said, sitting up. Her face quickly went from offended to superior. “At least I’m tall enough to ride in the bumper cars,” she teased, putting her hands on her hips. “And I always beat everyone else, even though I’m all alone.” 

It was true. Whenever they went to an amusement park, JD and Martha would always stand at the gate of the bumper cars and watch in jealousy and amazement, respectively, as Veronica obliterated all the other cars around her. When she put her mind to something, she did it - JD had always admired that about her.

Still, JD did not take insults to his height lightly. “You suck at croquet,” he bit back. “It’s stupid, and no one likes it anyway."

 Her eyes went wide. “You’re dead!” she shouted. She jumped at him, knocking him to the ground. He tried to push her off, but she had a great deal of strength in her skinny arms. She dug her fingers into his sides, causing him to burst out into laughter. He knew he shouldn’t ever have told her he was ticklish. 

“This isn’t fair, you’re exploiting my weakness!” He cried.

“I don’t even know what that means!” She shouted back, continuing to tickle him mercilessly. 

He finally managed to push her off, and she sat back on her knees, smiling triumphantly. “I do _not_ suck at croquet, and it’s not stupid. You’re just jealous because I’m good at everything you’re bad at.” Her proud smile fell quickly when JD sat still, staring at the ground silently.

“Hey,” She said, crawling towards him and placing a hand on his back. “I’m just kidding. You’re good at a lot of things I’m not. I suck at language arts and reading, but you always get A’s on all the quizzes. And you’re really good at capture the flag! Your team always wins,” she said, trying her best to comfort him. “You’re super duper smart and good at a lot of things.”

He sighed and remained quiet for a moment before he suddenly turned to her with a malicious smile. “You’re right, I am.” 

Before she could respond, he tackled her and returned the favor, tickling her until she had tears of laughter in her eyes. 

“You jerk!” she cried. “You manipulated me!”

“So you _were_ paying attention in language arts yesterday,” he said, crossing his arms in victory. 

She pushed him away before standing up and grabbing the pillow she threw on the floor. 

“There’s only one way to settle this,” She said solemnly, tossing him another pillow. “I hope you can reach high enough to get my face!” 

JD smirked. “Challenge accepted.”


	2. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of how JD met his beloved trench coat.

“ _Please_ don’t buy that thing,” Veronica said as JD held up a long, black trench coat in front of a thrift store mirror. “You’ll look like a Rick Deckard wannabee.”

“Or, Rick Deckard will look like a Jason Dean wannabee,” he responded, sounding just a tad bit superior. Veronica rolled her eyes, prepared for another witty comeback, but she held her tongue when he put the coat on.

He actually looked good. Really good.

“It definitely makes you look… taller,” she said, impressed. JD grinned. He’d finally had his long awaited growth spurt over the summer before eighth grade, and now stood a good five inches above Veronica. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a tad bitter, as she was so used towering over him and teasing him for his size. It seemed unfair that adolescence  turned him tall, good looking, and charismatic, while she was still dorky and awkward as ever. Still, she couldn’t help but admire him for his newfound charm.

“Only ten dollars,” He said, sounding pleased. “I think it’s a worthy investment.”

Veronica eyed it skeptically. “Who knows how old it is? Someone could have died in it, for all we know.”

JD shrugged. “All the more reason to buy it. It’s got character.”

She let out a short laugh. “Just stay away from me if that thing turns out to be haunted.”

“No promises,” he said, taking the coat to the register.

He put it on as soon as they left, and Veronica was surprised by how naturally he wore it; he looked confident, as if he belonged in it. Veronica was, yet again, slightly struck (and slightly jealous) by how attractive puberty had made him.

“So?” he said, “Better than Rick Deckard or what?”

Veronica rolled her eyes again and bumped her shoulder her shoulder against his, pushing him to the side.

“Rick Deckard is lame. Being better than him isn’t that impressive.”

“I respectfully reject that statement,” JD said, throwing an arm over her shoulder. He’d been doing that quite a lot lately, clearly proud that he finally could. Veronica grunted, but didn’t protest. It was kind of nice, actually. And he really did look good in that trench coat.

“Maybe people will finally leave us alone, now that you’re all tall and mysterious,”

Veronica said halfheartedly. JD sighed.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”


	3. Twenty Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The most extravagant marriage proposal you've ever seen

They were in bed, JD on his back and Veronica lying face up with her head on his stomach. They were both engrossed in their own books, JD’s a collection of poems and Veronica’s a study in some sort of scientific subject that JD didn’t have a clue about.

“Hey,” Veronica said suddenly. JD put his book down

and looked down at her.

“Yeah?”

She was quiet for a moment. “I’ve been thinking…about some stuff.”

JD smiled and weaved his fingers through her hair. “Stuff like?”

She took a deep breath and sat up to face him. “It’s just that - you know, we’ve been a couple for a really long time, and we’ve been best friends practically since we were babies.”

“Since we were seven, but okay,” he responded matter of factly.

“Shut up,” she responded with an eye roll. “Anyway, I was just thinking, now that we’re done with school and all, and we already live together, and…” She trailed off, staring at him pensively. He stared up at her for a moment before his expression slowly turned into a smile.

“Veronica Sawyer,” He said, his tone a bit teasing. “Am I dreaming, or are you proposing to me?”

“It’s not exactly romantic,” she grumbled.

He sat up, grinning. “You know, if you want to get married, we’ll have to get a divorce first.”

Veronica furrowed her brow. “What?”

“You don’t remember?” He gasped, pretending to be offended. “Third grade, under the monkey bars?”

She stared at him for a brief second before rolling her eyes with a smile.

“Asshole!” She laughed, shoving JD back down. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her down with him, kissing her despite the fact that they were both giggling like idiots.

“In case you couldn’t tell,” JD murmured after they pulled apart, “My answer is a solid ‘ _hell yes’.”_

Veronica smiled and kissed him again.

“I kind of figured, thanks.”


	4. Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD totally wants to date Veronica, Veronica's worried about JD, also Martha and The Princess Bride are there.

Martha beamed as Veronica’s TV lit up, showing only a blue screen before the image blurred and turned into the opening scene of The Princess Bride. They couldn’t remember the last time they’d watched anything else - movie night seemed to have become Princess Bride night.

JD and Veronica exchanged exasperated, but amused looks. While Martha’s obsession with it was endearing, they would’ve liked to watch something other than corny (admittedly witty) fairytales every now and then. Still, neither of them had the heart to tell Martha they were sick of the movie that consistently made her cry tears of joy as the credits rolled.

Halfway into the movie, Veronica yawned loudly (without covering her mouth - her yawns were always a whole scene) and leaned over, resting her head on JD’s shoulder. It was a casual gesture, and not at all unusual. Still, it was those little, insignificant signs of affection that always caused his heartbeat quicken embarrassingly.

After a few minutes her breathing slowed and gave way to quiet snores. It wasn’t exactly charming, but JD found it adorable nonetheless. He spent the remainder of the movie in an uncomfortable position, his arm having fallen asleep with Veronica leaning against it. Despite this, he refused to move. Even with his arm dead and his shoulders at an awkward angle, he always felt the most relaxed when she was touching him. Every time he panicked, every time he went to one of the many dark places in his mind, her touch and smile never failed to make the world look brighter.

He often wondered where he would be without her. If she hadn’t been with him when his mother died, if she hasn’t stood by his side for all those years. He didn’t even want to think about what he would have been like if he hadn’t had her. He knew there was no way he could have handled the pain alone. No one could erase the it completely, not even Veronica - but she made it bearable.

Martha helped too, of course. He’d known her as long as he’d known Veronica, and she was always as warm and welcoming as a person could be. He cared about her, and to have her around was a great comfort, but he never felt nearly as close to her as he did with Veronica. By the time the credits rolled, JD found himself beginning to doze off as well, only to be woken up by Martha’s small whimpers. JD had no idea how she could still manage to cry about beginning to doze off as well, only to be woken up by Martha’s small whimpers. JD had no idea how she could still manage to cry about a movie she’d seen at least thirty times in her life, but he admired her dedication to the film. Reluctantly, he gently shook Veronica awake, laughing quietly at her irritated groan.

“Wake up, buttercup,” he said, referencing the movie sarcastically.

“Shut up,” Veronica mumbled. She sat up, stretching her arms out it front of her. “Are you staying over?”

“Nope,” JD sighed tiredly, stretching his arms as well. “Gotta make sure my old man doesn’t drink himself to death or set the house on fire. The usual.” It sounded like an exaggeration, but his father really was horribly irresponsible. He’d come close to destroying the house on multiple occasions, and JD often found him on the floor, occasionally next to a puddle of vomit. He only started drinking so much after JD’s mother died, and though It hurt JD at first to see his father like that, he quickly accepted it as the new normal. He felt bad for his lack of emotional reaction when he finds his father unconscious or in the kitchen throwing dishes on the ground and knocking things over, but he was never particularly close with him and didn’t expect much else. He just waited for him to pass out, dragged him to his bed, and cleaned whatever mess he left. He did feel guilty for his apathy regarding his father, but his father didn’t seem to care for him much, either.

Veronica frowned. “You shouldn’t have to parent your own father.”

JD shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ll be outta that house in a few months, then he can handle himself.” Veronica made a displeased noise, but said nothing more.

He stood and walked to the door, Veronica following behind.

“See you Monday,” he yawned. He hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with his father when he got home - he was far too exhausted.

“See you,” Veronica replied, smiling pensively. He turned to go out the door when she spoke suddenly.

“JD, wait,” She looked at him for a moment, her expression concerned.

JD raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

She stared at the ground and bit her lip; something she only did when she was in a state of stress. “Just…take care of yourself, okay?”

JD looked at her quizzically. “Will do. Why the sudden cryptic comments?”

She shook her head. “No reason,” She assured him. “Just promise me?”

He gave her a confused smile. “I promise,” he confirmed. She nodded at him and gave him a tight hug, which he automatically returned. It only lasted a moment, and while he wished it would last longer, he was glad that she wouldn’t be able to hear his pulse racing.

“Get home safe,” she said as they pulled away.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone’s gonna mess with a Rick Deckard lookalike,” He joked. Veronica gave a short, breathy laugh, but there was no humor in it.

“I’ll see you later, then.” He said. She  nodded.

“Later.”


	5. Nineteen (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is tired and into really rough crazy sex stuff and JD is super down with it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh this might not be the most realistic sex scene cause there's like zero foreplay but let's just say they're both easy as fuck lmao

Veronica slammed the door of her and JD’s shared apartment loudly when she finally got home. It was well after dark, and she’d been out since the break of dawn, working, running errands, and going to classes. When she opened the door to the bedroom, JD was lying on their bed, reading, calm as can be. He had no work that day, and on the days she was free, he had a full schedule. She was trying to convince her boss to give her a different schedule, but for the time being they didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together.

“Long day?” JD asked, setting his book down.

“You have no idea,” she grumbled. She fell heavily down next to him with a sigh and threw her arm across his waist. “I don’t know why I even decided to take philosophy. That’s supposed to be your thing.”

“I think psych is more in my ballpark, what with my ridiculous amount of emotional trauma and everything.” He said it jokingly, but it still hurt Veronica to think of what he’d been through. She’d seen his pain firsthand, and she knew he still felt it every day. She tightened her arm around his waist and reached her head up, brushing her lips softly against his neck. He tilted his chin down, capturing her lips and running his tongue lightly along her lip. She pushed her head forward, kissing him more forcefully. JD grinned and let out a small chuckle.

“Do you even know how to kiss normally? You do it like we’re trapped in a room with a bomb about to go off.”

Veronica pushed him playfully and tried to look angry, but couldn’t hold in smile. “You’re an asshole,” she laughed, propping herself up on her elbow and leaning down to kiss him even harder. He took her by the shoulders and pulled her closer, shifting so that he was on top of her.  She ran her fingers through his hair and brought his head forward in an attempt to kiss him more deeply, but he pulled away.

Veronica sat up, frowning. “What?” She whined. JD shook his head.

“Don’t I remember you saying you had a test to study for?”

Veronica groaned and flopped down, burying her head in a pillow. “I spent four years studying for tests that won’t ever help me in the real world.” She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him with a coyly. “Can’t we just make out for the rest of the night or something? It’ll be way more productive than studying for some useless test.” She crawled over towards him, pulling him forward by his collar and connecting their lips again.

JD cursed his weak will; even after years of being together, he’d never been able to say no to her. He sighed, giving in. “Just don’t blame me if your academic career goes up in flames.”

Veronica smiled mischievously. “Oh, I won’t, trust me.” She pushed him down and kissed him slowly, much gentler than before. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, and she adjusted herself so that her legs on either side of his hips. She took his face in her hands and kissed him back hard, grazing his lower lip with her teeth as she did so. She pulled away and nipped his earlobe before kissing down his neck and biting his collarbone. JD gasped and let out a breathy laugh.

“Have you been reading vampire novels lately?”

He felt Veronica smile against his neck and moaned when she bite down even harder.

She pulled her shirt off and he quickly followed, unhooking her bra and tossing it to the side before grabbing her so that they were pressed together, able to feel every part of each other. He trailed light kisses down her neck, but she stopped him.

“Bite me,” she said breathily. “Hard.”

At this point he was over even thinking about questioning her, so he simply did as he was told. She bit her lip and made a noise of pleasure in the back of her throat, and JD couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself. Out of all his achievements in life, making Veronica feel this way was by far one of the most satisfying.

She got up onto her knees to pull her underwear down, lifting one leg to get it all the way off, and moved back down, grinding her hips slowly against his jeans.

“Shit,” he groaned, tossing his head back. He ran his mouth down her neck and shoulders until he reached her chest, teasing her with his teeth and tongue as she tightened her grip on his hair.

She didn’t stop until they were both seriously turned on, and even then, didn’t unbutton his jeans.

“ _Veronica,”_ he complained, looking desperate. Although she was about as impatient as he was, she smirked. For someone so socially awkward, she was confident as hell where it counted.

“What’s the magic word?”

JD rolled his eyes. ” _Please,”_ he pleaded. It almost sounded like a beg.

Veronica smiled and undid his button, hastily lifting her hips above him and slowly lowered herself down until he was all the way in.

They both let out gasps of ecstasy, JD tightening his hold on Veronica’s hips as she dug her nails into his back and dragged them down. It felt _amazing_.

She started to move up and down while JD continued to kiss and suck on her neck, but she dug her hand in his hair and yanked his head up, kissing him roughly. She pushed him down on his back, holding his arms down and using them as support while she rode him. He wanted to pull her closer, but she was clearly enjoying holding him down, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t love it when she took control.  Not to mention, the view was fantastic.

She lifted one hand and brought it down on his face, slapping him hard enough to make his cheek sting, but not enough to cause any real harm. He cried out, but it was more out of pleasure than pain. Before having sex with Veronica, he had no idea he would have enjoyed such things, but he learned very quickly that he most certainly did. He grasped her hips tightly and dug his nails into her skin.

_“Fuck yes,”_ she cried. She leaned down so that she was closer to him and kissed him roughly.

“ _Shit_ , Veronica,” He moaned. “Fuck, I love you so much.”  She grinned and started to move her hips even faster. The bed was creaking loudly, and JD only hoped their neighbors couldn’t hear.

She sat back up and continued to alternate between fast and slow until JD felt himself beginning to reach his breaking point

He cried out her name as he came, and she quickly followed, giving one last, loud moan before collapsing on top of him, her head buried in the space between his neck and shoulder.

“Good?” He whispered, brushing his lips against her ear.

She nodded. “ _Very_ good.”

He wrapped his arms around her they laid there, waiting for their breathing to slow, when JD suddenly burst out in quiet laughter. She looked up at him, perplexed. “What?”

JD just shook his head. “It’s nothing, it’s just - I’ve known you for over ten years, and here I thought I’d seen every side of you…”

She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means…I never would have expected you to be so - how should I say this - _assertive_ in bed.”

Veronica’s jaw dropped in offense. “Dick!” She said, slapping his chest. He took her hand and held it loosely in his own, an entertained look on his face.

“It was just a surprise, that’s all. You can be pretty intimidating when you want to.”

“Aw, does that scare you?” Veronica teased.

“Not at all. In fact, I wouldn’t complain if you wanted to get a little more…enthusiastic.”

Veronica hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said with a cheeky smile. She leaned in and kissed him once, short but slow, before laying her head on his chest and yawning deeply. He kissed the top of her head.

Though he was a bit embarrassed to admit it, it brought him a deep sense of comfort and satisfaction to watch Veronica sleep in his arms. To have her so peaceful and vulnerable not only made him feel as if he was keeping her safe, but as if she was protecting him as well. He never felt afraid when she was with him. He tightened his arms around her and she unconsciously moved closer to him, nuzzling her head into his chest.

JD fell asleep feeling a deep sense of warmth and contentedness that Veronica, and only Veronica could ever give him.


	6. Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My love Veronica gets screwed over by a preppy asshole and JD is just as pissed about it as I am

To say Veronica was acting strangely would be an understatement. She’d been different the entire week; she was smiling constantly, and seemed almost dazed. She’d traded her usual laugh for what sounded like suppressed giggling, and seemed almost bashful when speaking to people. Not only that, but her wardrobe seemed to have changed as well. While she didn’t change her clothes drastically, she’d been wearing slightly shorter skirts, more feminine shirts, and it even looked like she was wearing makeup. It was all very disturbing to him, and to say it put him on edge would be an even bigger understatement.

He kept quiet until he saw her drawing what looked like swirls and flowers in her notebook one day at lunch. He couldn’t tell for sure, though. Veronica was a terrible artist.

“Okay,” he said finally, dropping his bag carelessly to the ground as he sat down at their table. Martha was home sick, so he took the opportunity to confront her. “Talk.”

She looked up from her notebook, confused. “What?”

JD sighed heavily. “The giggling. The mall skirts. The mindless doodling. What’s the deal?”

Veronica furrowed her brow. “I don’t know what you mean, JD.”

“Of course you don’t,” he said in sarcastically pleasant tone. “Because you’re a robot who kidnapped Veronica and took her to your creepy robot lab. Wouldn’t expect you to know anything about her.”

Veronica just smiled.

She smiled.

Veronica Sawyer, queen of witty comebacks, eye rolls, and sarcasm, smiled at an insulting remark. Something was very, very wrong.

“Oh my god,” JD said flatly. “You really are a robot. What did you do to Veronica? Did you turn her into fuel for you and your cyborg friends?”

“Cyborgs and robots are different things, stupid,” she corrected. At least she had some sense of her old humor.

“Fine, your robot friends. Either you took Veronica, or you are Veronica, but you’ve been seriously brainwashed by said robots. Which is it?”

Veronica pursed her lips, holding back another cheesy smile.

“Okay,” she looked around as if to make sure no one could hear her. “Dave Anderson.”

JD raised an eyebrow. “Dave Anderson? You mean the preppy asshole who hangs around the fountain at the park getting stoned all day?”

Veronica frowned, for once. “He doesn’t get stoned. And he’s not an asshole.”

JD leaned back in his seat. “If you say so. Anyway, what about him?”

Veronica’s lips curled up again and she leaned in, speaking quietly.

“He asked me out.”

JD’s stomach dropped.

That certainly explained everything.

“I see,” he said, sounding as neutral as he could. “And when did this happen?”

“Two days ago,” She said, grinning from ear to ear. “But we’ve been hanging out all week in science and study hall.”

JD nodded stiffly. He knew he shouldn’t have been so upset; Veronica was amazing. The fact that she wasn’t bombarded with attention from boys (or girls, for that matter) every day was a testament to how fucked up the kids at their school were. Still, to hear that she was going out with some rich prick with a solid gold pea for a brain didn’t sit well with him.

“I certainly hope it goes well for you,” sighed.

“I really think it will,” Veronica said, grinning.

Around midnight, JD’s phone rang.

Figuring it was Veronica, as she was the only one who would call so late, he answered despite being dead tired and about to go to sleep.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” came a shaky voice. “It’s Veronica.”

“I figured,” JD said, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Um, it’s nothing, really,” She stammered. “Just - do you think you could come over?”

Confused and nervous, JD nodded urgently despite the fact that she couldn’t see. “I’ll leave right now. Be there in ten.”

“Mhm,” she affirmed, as if she was hesitant to speak for fear she might start crying.

JD hung up the phone and hastily left his house. He ended up at Veronica’s in seven minutes.

When he arrived, he climbed up to her window and tapped on it lightly. When she came to open it, her eyes were red, and her face was wet with tears.

“Veronica,” he whispered loudly, hurrying into her room. “What the hell happened?”

She just shook her head and stared at the ground silently before a sob escaped her.

“Dave fucking Anderson happened,” She cried.

JD felt his stomach turn. Of course. He was an idiot for not expecting that pretentious piece of shit would pull something. He stepped towards her and took her in his arms, and she returned the embrace, almost desperately. She’d given up trying not to cry and started bawling into his shirt, most likely getting tear stains all over it. He couldn’t care less.

“Shit,” He said breathlessly, more to himself than to her.

“I should have known he was a dick,” she sobbed. “He never gave a crap about me.”

JD led her over to the bed, sitting down with his arm still around her shoulder.

“We went to the mall, which is stupid, because the mall is just a breeding ground for horny popular kids, but we actually had fun.” She smiled bitterly through her tears. “And then he kissed me.”

JD’s teeth clenched.

“And before I had two fucking seconds to be happy about it, his asshole friends run out of Starbucks and start congratulating him.” She laughed humorously. “And the best fucking part? They gave him twenty bucks. They told him he was tough for going out with one of the biggest losers in school. And then they left. And I had to walk home.” She wiped her tears, but they kept coming. “Twenty dollars, JD. That’s how much they think I’m worth.”

For once in his life, JD was speechless. He didn’t think any amount of swearing or shouting would express the ridiculous amount of fury he was feeling, and it took everything he had not to stand up and punch a hole in her wall. He just pulled her closer and held her tighter than he ever had while she continued to sob.

He wanted to tell her, for the thousandth time, that he loved her. He wanted to tell her that she was the best thing he’d ever known, that she was worth more than the lives of all those shitheads combined. He wanted to tell her that he would do anything for her, that she was everything to him. But he couldn’t say that.

“They’re nothing, Veronica,” He murmured when she finally quieted. “They’re useless fucks who’ll peak in high school and spend the rest of their lives working part time in a car wash while you’re at some Ivy League college with a five percent acceptance rate.”

Veronica shrugged tiredly.

“Doesn’t make me any less of a loser, though.” She shook her head. “I was a dumbass for thinking someone like him could ever be into me.”

JD scoffed. “Meeting someone like you will be his greatest accomplishment. He didn’t fucking deserve you.”

She nodded lethargically. “Will you stay over? I kind of don’t feel like I’ll do very well on my own tonight.”

He nodded and rest his chin on her head. “I wouldn’t leave if you asked me to.”

He got up and started to arrange a pillow and blanket on the floor like he usually did when he slept over, but Veronica stopped him.

“Hold on,” she said, almost nervously. “You can sleep here, if you want.”

JD’s eyes went wide as saucers for a moment, but he quickly shook it off and gave a small nod. “Sure,” he said, trying his best to sound indifferent. He took off his coat and shoes, opting to leave his jeans on for obvious reasons. They both got under the sheets, and Veronica took his arm once they settled. It wasn’t extremely intimate; she was just holding his arm close to her like a stuffed animal, but JD’s heartbeat was out of control. He was glad she wasn’t pressed up against him, because she would most definitely hear it racing.

“Thank you for coming over,” she murmured, already falling asleep. JD nodded and resisted the urge to pull her as close as he could.

Despite his racing pulse and intense anger at what had happened, JD slept better than he ever had.

That Monday, Veronica didn’t see JD at lunch or after school. She asked Martha if she’d seen him, but she was just as clueless. She’d skipped both of her classes with Dave Anderson, far too terrified to see him, and walked as fast as she could and with her head down when she saw his friends.

It was unlike JD to miss school, especially without letting her know first. She went to his house later, opting to knock on the door instead of climb through the window, and gasped when he answered the door. He looked like hell, with several bruises on his face and a split lip, and what looked like blood on his collar.

“Holy shit,” She cried, rushing over to him and gently placing her hands on his scratched cheeks. “What the fuck happened to you?”

JD shrugged. “Just gave some asshole what he deserved. He’s probably as bad as I am, so it’s a fair trade off.”

“Holy shit,” She repeated incredulously. “You beat up Dave Anderson.”

“It wasn’t that hard. He seemed to be more worried about messing up his shirt than defending himself.”

Veronica shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Screw your masculinity, JD, seriously,” She croaked breathlessly, trying her best not to cry.

He tried to give her a cool smile, but winced when it stretched his cut lip. “You’ve would’ve done the same for me. You have before.”

She shook her head again, this time with a teary smile.

“You’re an idiot. You know that, right? You’re a complete fucking idiot.”

He smirked as best as he could with his injuries.

“Just for you, though.”

 

 

 


	7. Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is smart as fuck and JD is happy for her and it's the corniest and most joyful thing I've ever written

It came in the mail that day - An envelope with the Harvard logo on the top. She’d already been accepted into several other prestigious universities, but _this_ was the one she’d dreamed of since she was little.

“You planning on opening that within the next four years?” JD said carefully. They were sitting on his bed; she ran over as soon as she received the letter.

Veronica shot him a glare and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” she muttered, clearing her throat nervously. “The worst that can happen is that I won’t be accepted, right?”  

She slipped her thumb under the opening, tearing the letter open, and slowly pulling the letter out and examining it. She stayed silent for a moment before her eyes widened.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “ _Oh my god,”_ she repeated, louder this time. She looked up to meet JD’s eyes.

“JD, I got into fucking _Harvard.”_

JD broke out into a huge grin and let out a joyous laugh, one which Veronica returned. She stood up and let out a giddy noise that sounded nearly like a squeal, and wrapped her arms around JD’s neck, practically jumping up and down. He held her tight, just as excited as she was.

She pulled away and looked at the letter again, terribly disheveled. “Wait, what if it’s a mistake?” she said, suddenly frantic. “They could have meant to send this to someone else, right?”

“Sure, maybe,” JD said sarcastically. “That explains why it says ‘Veronica Sawyer’.”

She tried to glare at him, but she couldn’t help the ecstatic look on her face.

“ _Harvard,”_ she breathed incredulously. She suddenly looked at JD, concerned.

“Wait, what about you? You never even told me where you applied.”

JD sighed.

“Well,” he said, almost coyly. “I didn’t want to tell you until we found out where you got accepted, but…” he walked over to his desk and pulled out something from the drawer, holding it out to her.

She scanned the paper before her face broke out into another grin. “You got into Lesley?” she exclaimed.

“It’s no Ivy League, but it’s less than 20 minutes from Harvard.”

Veronica laughed. “What were you gonna do if I didn’t get into Harvard?”

He looked at the ground, looking just slightly uncharacteristically shy. “I may have applied to some less prestigious colleges around the ones you applied for. Not in a weird way or anything. I just …” He trailed off, looking at Veronica timidly.

Veronica smiled teasingly. “Aw, are you feeling a little self conscious? But I thought you were the king of charisma?”

JD rolled his eyes. “I’ll have you know, I didn’t _only_ apply to colleges close to the one’s you applied to. I have backups, just in case you don’t want to…You know, be in the same area.“

Veronica looked at him like he had a clown nose on. Instead of responding, she just walked towards him, took the back of his neck, and pulled him down, not to kiss him, but to meet his eyes directly.

“JD,” she said firmly. “I want to spend the next four years, and hopefully more, with you.”

JD grinned and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her off the ground joyously. She laughed and slapped his shoulder as he put her down pulling him in for another kiss.

“You know, you could have gotten into an Ivy League if you’d actually put in some effort at school. You’re probably smarter than me.”

“I highly doubt that. Besides, test taking has never been my strong suit anyway,” JD replied casually.

Veronica pulled away and smirked at him.

“Wanna celebrate?” She asked flirtatiously.

JD pretended to be thoughtful. “You know, I’m not sure. Awesome sex with my girlfriend after getting multiple pieces of awesome news seems a little excessive. Wouldn’t wanna have _too_ good a day.”

Veronica sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. We should probably just go to sleep or something.”

They both stared at each other, trying not to laugh, before Veronica grabbed his arm and dragged him over to his bed.


	8. Twenty Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather Chandler gets a gay cameo, Heather McNamara and Kurt Kelly are the funniest and most idiotic couple, and Heather Duke is an utter bitch as usual.

“We should probably start getting ready,” Veronica mumbled. 

“Or,” JD chimed in, “We could stay home and be grateful for the fact that we never have to go back to the arena of death.”

Veronica shrugged. “Martha really wants to go. I don’t have any idea  _ why,  _ but we have to go for her.”

“It’s a  _ five hour drive.  _ Who the hell has a nine year reunion anyway? Couldn't they have waited a year and given Martha time to see what a horrible idea this is?”

“Everything about that school is a mystery to me,” she sighed, standing up and grabbing some clothes from her closet and walking in front of the mirror to get dressed.

“Here,” she said, tossing JD a black button down shirt. “Wear something they can’t harass you for.”

He caught the shirt and groaned. 

“Okay, I give. But if Ram Sweeney gets within five feet of me, I can’t be held responsible for any harm that may come to him.”

Veronica grinned slightly in the mirror. “I’ll help you out with that one.” Her smile turned into a grimace. “Same goes for the Mythic Bitch.”

JD scoffed. “Heather Chandler probably married some rich asshole who may or may not be her second cousin.”

“Ugh,” Veronica shivered. “Don’t even say her name, I’ll lose my dinner.

JD smirked. “Kind of like Heather Duke?” 

Veronica rolled her eyes. “It might be nice to see Heather McNamara. We sort of bonded after Duke made her try to swallow a bottle of painkillers.” She frowned, remembering all the terrible things that had happened senior year. It was a miracle no one got killed. 

“Right,” JD scoffed, “because she was such a ray of sunshine.”

“Hey,” Veronica chided. “Don't be a dick. She was my friend.”

“She was your friend for a few months after spending years torturing people under the reign of Heather Chandler.”

Veronica finished putting on her clothes and fell onto the bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“We’ll just walk in, spend a few hours reliving our childhood nightmare, and go home.”

JD grunted affirmatively.

“Let's get it over with,” he sighed, standing up.

Veronica grimaced when they pulled into the Westerburg high school parking lot after a drive that seemed to go on for ages. 

“Never thought I’d end up back here,” she mumbled.

They walked into the gym where the reunion was being held, and were only slightly surprised to see that most of the class of 1990 hadn't changed much at all. Former jocks were shouting deafeningly and the girls who used to be cheerleaders were hanging all over them. The nerdy kids stayed in the corners, looking as if they regretted coming. 

“Now I remember why we left prom early,” JD said in an ‘ _I_ _told you so’_ sort of voice. 

“ _ For Martha,”  _ Veronica reminded him sternly.

Right on cue, Veronica’s Nokia phone started ringing. 

“Speaking of,” she said, answering the phone.

“Hello?” She listened for a moment before a distressed look appeared on her face. 

“What? Martha, really?” She whined. “Okay, okay, I hope you feel better. Bye.” She turned to JD, looking utterly defeated.

“Martha’s sick.”

JD’s face brightened.

“Shame,” he said. “I was really looking forward to this! Guess we’d better be on our way, then.” 

Veronica bit her lip. “We should stay for a little bit. We came all this way, right?”

“ _ Or,  _ we could leave right now, go home, and celebrate the fact that we didn't have to spend more than ten minutes in this sweaty, PTSD inducing place.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “You can do that that thing to me, if you want.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Please, you can’t use that as bribery. You like it just as much as I do.”

JD huffed and made a face that looked almost like a pout.

“It’s the right thing to do,” she said. “I bet everyone’s a lot more mature now anyway.”

JD sighed. Again.

“Alright, alright,” he said, giving in. “Just don't blame me if you feel traumatized by teenage prison.”

Suddenly, the chatter in the room quieted. JD and Veronica looked over to the doors of the gym to see a tall blonde woman in an expensive looking red dress, ridiculously tall heels, and flawless hair and makeup.

Even after almost ten years, the former students of Westerburg High parted when Heather Chandler walked in. She looked almost exactly as she had in high school, and carried herself the same: head high, shoulders back, and a look on her face that very definitively said “ _ I am better than you.”  _

“Shit,” Veronica muttered under her breath. “I was hoping she aged poorly.” 

Behind her walked another glamorous, designer cocktail dress clad girl with a similar expression. She was slightly shorter, but walked with the same aura as Heather, one that made her seem like the tallest person in the room. 

“Damn, does Heather have a scary sister?” Veronica whispered. 

It was then that Heather took the girl by her waist and kissed her in a way that was far too sensual to fit the schools PDA rules. When she pulled away, she looked around the room challengingly, as if she was daring anyone to say anything, and fully prepared to rip them apart if they did. 

When everyone remained silent, she gave a smug smile and took her girlfriend (wife?) by the hand and walked out, both of them with looking beyond superior and conceited, with their heads held high enough to make anyone nervous. Veronica hated to admit that even after all these years, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration.. Heather caught Veronica’s eye on the way out and stopped for just a moment, smirking at her before tossing her ridiculously glossy hair back and exiting to gym.

As soon as they walked away, the party resumed as usual, everyone whispering amongst themselves about what they’d just seen..

Veronica and JD raised their eyebrows in surprise. 

“I didn’t expect that,” Veronica said. JD let out a breathy laugh. 

“No wonder she screwed so many guys. She was just angry and full of repressed urges.”

Veronica elbowed him in the ribs. “Don’t be an asshole! Besides, bisexuality is a thing. I’m sure she...enjoyed hooking up with so many guys.”

“Defending the enemy, are we?”

Veronica resisted the urge to elbow him again. “She’s still a terrible person. Did she come all the way here just to show everyone how hot she and her girlfriend are?” JD shrugged.

“Seems like something she would do.”

She was staring darkly out the door Heather left through when she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. 

“Heather!” She exclaimed.

Heather McNamara hadn’t changed much - she wore a yellow sundress and had the same voluminous, blonde curls she had the last time Veronica saw her. The two embraced happily, and JD had to stop himself from letting out a gag. 

“How are you?” Veronica asked when they pulled away. 

“I’m great,” Heather responded enthusiastically. Her voice hadn't changed - she still sounded light and cheery as ever. “I’m actually engaged!” She squeaked, holding her hand out to show off a ring with a huge diamond on it. JD thought it looked gaudy.

“Whoa, did your dad make that?” Veronica asked, examining the ring. Heather nodded excitedly.

“He designed it special for me. Don’t you love it?”

Veronica laughed. “It’s awesome, I’m really glad you’re happy,” she said, smiling sincerely. She really was happy to see Heather doing well, after all she’d been through. 

“Who’s the lucky guy? Or girl?”

Heather smiled giddily and pointed over Veronica’s shoulder. Veronica’s jaw dropped, and JD couldn't help but laugh in shocked amusement.

“ _ Kurt Kelly?”  _ She exclaimed. Heather nodded eagerly. 

“You know, we were sorta casual in school, but after we graduated we got more serious. We broke up a couple times, but he finally proposed. He was fancy about it too! He wrote ‘will you marry me?’ On a football and threw it at me while we were at Seaworld.” She frowned for a moment. “Only I ducked, so it went in the dolphin pool and we got kicked out. And I scraped my knee pretty bad too” She shook off her frown and smiled brightly again, gazing at Kurt for a moment while JD and Veronica exchanged confused looks.

“Anyway,” Heather said, looking back at JD and Veronica. “How are you guys? It’s so cute that you're still together!” 

JD nodded, looking as if he was holding in a laugh.

“Our proposal wasn't nearly as romantic as yours, though, that's for sure.” 

Veronica resisted the urge to stomp on his foot. 

“You guys got engaged? Or are you already married?”

“Enjoying the married life,” JD said casually. “The old ball and chain,” he teased, winking at Veronica.

“You can say that again,” she grumbled.

“Yo, babe,” boomed a deep, familiar voice from behind them. Kurt walked up to Heather and slung an arm around her shoulder. “The football fields totally empty. We should go make out before the party’s over.”

“Nice,” JD muttered quietly. “Real subtle.”

Kurt turned his head to them and grinned.

“Veronica Saparito! What's up?” He bellowed.

“Sawyer, actually!” Veronica responded, sarcastically matching his excited tone. 

“Shit, really?” He said. “Damn. I coulda sworn you were Italian.”

Veronica had a painfully fake grin stuck on her face, and JD had a hand over his mouth, trying his best to keep from laughing. 

Kurt turned to JD. “You’re crazy trench coat kid, right?” 

JD’s demeanor changed immediately.

“That's me,” he said, irritated. Kurt whistled lowly.

“Damn,” he said again. “You totally kicked my ass senior year, right?”

JD raised an eyebrow. “Yeah,” he said slowly. Kurt grinned.

“That was intense, dude. I was sore for  _ days.”  _ He raised his arm, implying that he was waiting for a high five.

JD stood there before Veronica nudged him subtly, looking around the other side of the room. He hesitantly raised his hand as Kurt smacked it. 

“Anyway, I gotta go make out with my fiancé,” he half-shouted.  He nodded to Veronica. “You still look smokin, by the way.” He took Heather by the shoulders and let her out of the gym while she giggled the most high pitched giggle JD had ever heard. 

“Bye, Veronica!” She said, looking back and waving a hand at her. Veronica returned the wave awkwardly.  

“Does he not remember what a dick he was?”

JD shrugged. “He probably doesn't have the brain capacity.” He looked at Veronica with pleading eyes. “There. We stuck around. We gave everyone our greetings and salutations. Can we leave now?”

Veronica nodded tiredly. “That’d probably be the best thing to do.” As they were walking out, they were stopped by a familiar face with a green dress.

“Heather Duke!” Veronica said with what was clearly fake enthusiasm. “Wow, it’s been a while. You’ve aged wonderfully. We actually have to go, though, sorry. Great seeing you!”

“Veronica,” she cooed in a sickly sweet voice before they got the chance to walk away.. “And…” She said, looking at JD distastefully. “You used to wear a trench coat, right?” 

“And here I was, afraid you wouldn't remember me,” JD said sarcastically. Veronica sighed. 

“Wow, Heather,” she deadpanned. “Great to see how much you’ve matured over the years.”

Heather smiled. “Great to see you’ve gone back to wearing thrift store dresses. Too bad you humiliated yourself when you barfed all over Heather Senior year. Maybe if you hadn't been kicked off of the top of the social ladder you wouldn't have lost your style and gone back to the geeks and losers.” She eyed JD again. 

“Well,” Veronica said, trying and failing to sound perky. “We should probably go. Wouldn't wanna ruin your night with our loser vibes. She grabbed JD’s arm as he shot Heather a death glare, which she responded to with a smirk. 

When they were far enough away, Veronica removed her hand, which had been clutching his arm enough to cause considerable pain, and buried it in her hair.

“I’m gonna scream,” she said flatly, pacing around the small corner they were in. 

“I’m gonna scream, and it’ll be so loud, it’ll break her hundred dollar earring wearing eardrums.”

JD opened his mouth to speak, but Veronica cut him off.

“I know eardrums don’t wear earrings, okay? I’m just ranting.

JD gave her a strange look. “Not what I was gonna say, but alright, if you say so.”

Veronica let out a noise that sounded almost like a growl.

“You’re right, no one’s changed. It’s my fault for being an optimist.” She was starting to look more miserable than angry.

“I thought everyone would be different.” She said, her voice breaking just slightly. 

JD frowned and bit the inside of his cheek. Seeing Veronica depressed always made him feel just as awful as she felt, and all he wanted to do was take away her pain. 

“Is that why you wanted to stay tonight?” He asked gently. “To see if people had changed?”

Veronica shrugged sadly.

“There are plenty of good people out there, Veronica,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders to comfort her. “You’re the one who helped me see that.  _ You’re _ the one who spent years convincing me that the world wasn’t a terrible place.”

She nodded halfheartedly and leaned into him as he gladly wrapped his arms around her.

“What about Heather Duke and Heather Chandler?” She mumbled against his chest. 

“Heather Chandler is and always will be a selfish, conceited, empty shell of a person, and I’ll bet Duke hasn't done anything with her life except maybe marry some rich asshole who she’ll probably poison with drain cleaner.”

Veronica laughed grimly. “Too bad we didn't make  _ her  _ a prairie oyster.”

JD looked around the room, over to a table in the center of the gym. Heather was socializing with some of the other former popular kids and set her purse down next to the punch bowl as one boy invited her over to the middle of the gym to dance.

“Veronica,” he said, catching her attention. 

“Hmm?” She said tiredly. He let her go and gestured with his chin over to the punch table, looking at her as her eyes widened and she nodded in understanding. 

They slowly walked over to the table, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. 

They hesitantly looked at the purse, then at the bowl of punch, and finally at each other. 

“We shouldn’t,” Veronica said slowly. “We’re way too old to pull something like that.”

“Right, true,” JD said, peeking into the unzipped bag. “Plus, it looks like her phone is in there.”

“Yeah,” Veronica agreed, looking in as well. “And her designer wallet. And her… Is that a Rolex?”

They stared at each other for a moment before, like lighting, Veronica tipped the bowl over, soaking the contents of Heathers purse. Immediately after she spilled it, she grabbed JD’s hand and they ran as fast as they could out of the gym, laughing like children. They heard a scream of rage come from inside the doors, but dashed to their car before anyone could see them. When they were safely inside with the doors locked, they high fived happily, laughing until they caught their breath.

“You know,” JD panted. “I’m glad we came to the reunion after all.” 

Veronica nodded. “It’s pretty late, though,” She looked at him coyly. “Wanna stay the night at a hotel so I can do that thing to you?”

JD grinned drove away before Heather Duke could make it out of the school in her Louis Vuitton heels. 


	9. Thirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is in labor and very angry, and JD is a clueless mess of anxiety who has absolutely no idea what he's doing. Also Veronica's parents and Martha are there.

“I think I’m gonna kill someone if I hear Cynthia Morgan say one more thing about how women should do what their husbands tell them to do,” Veronica said from behind the counter as JD cooked dinner. She keeps going on about ‘ _ high quality women’  _ and ‘ _ alpha males. _ ” she pretended to gag from behind the counter. Usually they cooked together, but he insisted she sit down. Even though she refused to stay home from the law firm she worked at, she still had ridiculous back pain by the end of the day. Plus, as he had previously mentioned so politely, her stomach had gotten so big she probably wouldn't even be able to do anything.

“I still can't believe you won't stop going to work even though you're almost eight months pregnant,” JD said. “If I was a good husband, I wouldn't let you.”

Veronica smiled. “If you didn't let me, you'd be a terrible husband, and I'd divorce you.” 

JD gasped, feigning offense. “Are you trying to tell me you wouldn't do what I say? Aren't wives supposed to obey their husbands? Really, you should be the one cooking for me.”

“Asshole!” Veronica laughed. She reached into a bag of grapes and tried to throw one at his head, cursing his quick reflexes when he ducked in time.

He picked it up and threw it back at her, but she blocked it with her hand.

“Hey,” she laughed. “I’m pregnant! What kind of honorable  _ alpha male _ would harm a woman with child?” 

He scoffed jokingly and turned around to stir the food on the pan. “According to your coworkers, a guy like me is anything  _ but _ honorable, right?”

Veronica suddenly went quiet.

He turned around to look at her, only to see her staring silently at him with wide eyes. 

“Veronica?” He asked, confused.

“JD,” she said quietly. “Um, don’t freak out or anything, but I think my water just broke.” 

JD stared at her for a moment before saying the most intelligent thing he could think of. 

“What?”

“My water just broke,” she said again, louder this time. “I’m going into labor.”

JD nodded slowly.

“Okay,” He said, sounding practically dazed. “Then we should...probably go to the hospital, right?”

Veronica frowned. “I don’t think so...Aren't we supposed to wait until I have contractions?”

JD sighed. “We really should have gone to those birthing classes.” 

“Just look it up!” She said, somewhat urgently. 

“Right, right, Internet,” JD said, more to himself than to her. He ran over to the desk with their huge, boxy computer and waited for what felt like ages to load.

“Hurry!” Veronica called from the kitchen.

“I’m not a master of technology, sorry!” 

When the computer finally turned on, he typed the question into the search bar and clicked the first article that popped up. 

_ “A woman should go to the hospital when her contractions have been five minutes apart for an hour. This can take anywhere from 8- - 48 hours.”  _

“It's six right now,” he said, looking at the clock. “So I guess we can just stay home for a while, right?” 

Veronica huffed irately. “I guess so. I’m gonna go take a shower.” 

“I’ll finish making dinner,” He said. “For two, I’m guessing?” 

Veronica just grunted in response and walked into the bathroom. 

At around four in the morning, JD was awoken by the feeling of Veronica tossing and turning in his arms and letting out small, pained groans.

“Veronica?” He said, groggy. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you  _ think _ is wrong?” She said in a strained voice. “Contractions, JD. Bad contractions.”

this got him up instantly. He jumped out of bed and turned the lights on to see Veronica sitting cross legged, and looking terribly distressed, with one hand on her stomach and one on her back.

“Shit,” he muttered. “How far apart are they?” 

“Less than ten minutes. They have been for an hour.” she said roughly, her face scrunched up in agony. 

“ _ Shit,”  _ he said again, reaching for his keys and a pair of shoes for each of them. “Why didn’t you wake me up before?”

“The article said I should wait an hour. I didn’t wanna go before I knew for sure.”

After she managed to get dressed and put her shoes on (JD tried to assist her, but she wouldn’t allow it) they left their house, and the second they got into the car, Veronica let out a muffled screech.

“Another one?” He asked.

“ _ Yes,  _ another one,” she snapped, as if it were obvious. 

He turned the car on and hastily pulled out of the driveway, heading towards the hospital. 

“Do you need anything?” He asked nervously. “Some...I I don't know, music or something?”

“Sure,” Veronica said sarcastically. “Some nice jazz would  _ really  _ help my situation.”

He tried his best to stay calm, though he couldn't help but feel panicked. Even though he appreciated her sense of humor, he hated to see her in pain and felt guilty that he couldn’t do anything.

“Wait,” Veronica said suddenly. “We decided on a name, right?”

JD frowned. “We were gonna do Sam, right? Samuel if it’s a boy, Samantha if it’s a girl?”

“I thought we were doing Alexander if it was a boy, Alexis if it was a girl,” She responded, horribly distressed. She leaned forward and let her head fall heavily against the dashboard. “I can’t believe we haven’t even picked a  _ name  _ yet.”

“To be fair, it’s early. I thought we’d have a little more time for big decisions like this.” 

Veronica just gave a grumpy _ “hmph” _ in response. 

“Okay, Alex, okay?” JD said in an attempt to sound calming. “Alex is good.”

He parked close enough to the doors of the hospital that they didn't have to walk far. When they were inside, Veronica sat down on one of the waiting room chairs, still ridiculously uncomfortable despite the contractions having subsided momentarily. 

JD walked up to the front desk and realized he had no clue what he was doing.

“Hey,” he said to the receptionist, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. “My wife is - in labor, I think. I mean, I'm not sure if she’s in the pushing stage yet, but, uh, she's over there,” he said gesturing to Veronica. The receptionist nodded and picked up the phone on the desk, calling for a wheelchair to bring her to a room, to which she responded to with a quiet, irritated comment about how she could walk herself. 

The admission process was long and grueling - there was a ridiculous amount of pulse checking and wires and monitors and all sorts of things Veronica and JD didn’t understand before she was finally allowed in her room, where JD called Martha and Veronica’s parents (Veronica was too busy swearing and cursing the world).

JD finally took a deep breath and sat down next to her bed where she sat, cross legged and rocking herself back and forth.

“I’m gonna die,” She panted. “I am literally going to die. Throw my ashes on Cynthia Morgan’s shoe collection.”

“As much as I would love to throw human ashes on Cynthia Morgan’s stuff, the doctors have confirmed that you're not gonna die.” He said, rubbing her back. 

“Please don't look down there when the time comes,” she groaned.

“Wasn't gonna,” he assured her. “No offense.”

“ _ Shit,”  _ she cried, squeezing his hand. 

Despite the massive amount of pain she was in, Veronica couldn't help but notice how hilariously stereotypical their situation was. The nervous husband, the insane, screaming wife, and what was surely soon to be a crowded room full of doctors and friends and family. 

As if on cue, Martha hurried into the room, flustered.

“Veronica!” She said. “How’s it going? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?

“Martha,” she tried to yell, but it came out as more of a loud gasp. “Oh my God, Martha, I’m so glad you're here.” She let go of JD’s hand and reached out for Martha’s. 

“Thanks,” JD grumbled, but Veronica didn't even notice.

“Everything's fine, except for the fact that I’m dying.” She shook her head quickly when she saw the look of horror on Martha’s face. 

“Not literally,” she assured her before grunting in pain again. “Just feels like it,” she said through gritted teeth.

Martha breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Your parents are on the way.” She looked around the room in awe. “I can’t believe you're actually having a baby! 

“Yeah,” she grimaced. “Neither can I.”

Several hours passed. Her parents arrived, her mother being melodramatic as ever, fawning over her and asking if she needed anything and telling her how proud she was, and her father telling her stories about how difficult her birth was because, “ _ You had a head like a soccer ball.” _

While she was both grateful and comforted to have her friends and family in the room with her, their constant chatter did nothing to ease the terrible, on and off pain she was having. It didn’t help that her mother freaked out every time she had a particularly bad contraction. 

She thanked the lord for Martha, who was, as usual, the calmest, sweetest person in the room. Although JD kept up his relaxed, unbothered facade perfectly,  Veronica could always tell when he was hiding sadness or anger or anxiety. In this situation, it was clear to her that he was as stressed as a rubber band stretched out as far as it could go.

After about five hours of this, Veronica gasped loudly, causing everyone to turn to her quickly.

“Holy shit,” She whimpered. “It’s here.”

JD’s eyes widened. “You mean,  _ here  _ here? Now?”

“Yes, now!” She cried angrily. 

“Oh no,” Martha fretted. “Should I call the nurse?”

“That’d probably be for the best,” she croaked. 

Martha dashed out of the room. Veronica’s mother was now becoming  _ truly _ frantic.

“How fast is it coming?” She demanded. “Is close yet? How do you feel? Have you been drinking enough water? Veronica, I haven’t seen you drink much water at all today. You could pass out if you don’t drink enough water!”   
Veronica muffled her head with a pillow and screeched quietly into it, trying to block out both the noise and the pain. It didn’t help either in the slightest.

Martha rushed in with the doctor, who calmly sat herself at the end of Veronica’s bed.

“Hi, Veronica,” The doctor said in a friendly and soothing voice. “I’m Dr. Zales, and I’m gonna make this real easy for you, okay?”

Veronica resisted the urge to shout at her to stop talking and get that baby out of her as fast as she could. JD and Martha were on either side of her bed, and she grabbed their hands tightly, feeling as if she were about to go into battle. She supposed she was, sort of. 

“Here we go,” the doctor said excitedly, as if Veronica  _ wasn’t  _ in an insane amount of pain. “Ready?”

Veronica nodded like crazy. “More than ready,” She seethed.

“Okay,” Dr. Zales said. “Go!” It sounded more like she was telling Veronica to start running for a race than to start pushing for a baby.

Veronica followed her instructions and let out a scream that sounded more angry than agonized. 

“Why did we do this?” She whined. “Why couldn’t we have adopted a kid?”

“Probably because we’re selfish and wanted a kid with our DNA instead of helping a kid who was already in need,” JD said casually. 

“Oh my God, can you cut the sarcasm for for like, two seconds?” She snapped.

“Sorry,” he said under his breath. 

“Doing good,” The doctor said, sounding only mildly confused.

“Come on, you’ve done harder things than this,” JD said in an attempt to be comforting. All it got him was a death glare.

“He’s right, Veronica!” Martha said encouragingly. “You got into  _ Harvard _ .”

“I did,” Veronica panted. “I got into Harvard!” She shouted at the ceiling. JD winced at the volume of her voice.

“You’ve won almost a hundred cases in eight years,” JD added.

“A hundred cases in eight years!” She was even louder this time.

“You handled Heather Chandler!” Martha said enthusiastically.

“I handled _ Heather fucking Chandler _ !” Her mother looked like she wanted to say something about her language, but decided it was best not to.

She screamed again through clenched teeth. JD tried his best to feel calm, but he’d been feeling like a gigantic ball of pure anxiety since the previous evening. 

“You’re almost there, Veronica, just give me a few more,” the doctor said. It sounded like she was trying not to laugh.

“You can do it, Veronica,” Her father said firmly. “You should have seen your mother give birth to you. You were made this baby look like a piece of cake.”

Veronica groaned. “Dad, I love you, but can you just  _ not  _ right now?” 

He looked at her mother and quietly said, “Not what?” Her mother just shrugged, as clueless as he was. 

“This is the last push,” the doctor said encouragingly. “Make it count!” 

Veronica let out one last, deafening yell before the room was filled with the sound of a crying baby. Veronica let out a deep breath that she felt like she’d been holding for hours and let her head fall back on the pillow. 

“Jesus,” she said breathlessly. “It's over.” 

“It’s a boy,” the doctor said with a grin. “I’m assuming you’d like to hold him?” Veronica almost said no, feeling to exhausted to move even her head, but nodded lethargically nonetheless. The doctor placed the blanket wrapped baby in her arms, and she brightened the second she saw him. He didn't look like anything special - he had the typical reddish skin of a freshly born baby, a small patch of thin brown hair, and a scrunched up face with closed eyes. 

But he was hers, and he was JD’s, and he was one of the most amazing things she’d ever seen. 

“Holy crap,” JD whispered, leaning in next to Veronica to look at their child. They turned to each other with ecstatic looks on their faces before Veronica offered him the baby.

Her mother was already crying, and her father looked like he was resisting the urge to tear up. Martha looked at the child and Veronica adoringly, and Veronica was surprised _Martha_ of all people wasn’t crying.

Dr. Zales left the room to give them all privacy, and it was only then that Veronica noticed JD’s eyes were tearing up slightly as well. 

“Oh my god,” Veronica said softly with a smile. “Are you crying?” 

JD shrugged and let out a shaky laugh. 

“Baby tears are contagious, I guess.”

“Sure,” Veronica said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Whatever you say.”

“He’s so beautiful,” Martha cooed at the baby. Veronica grinned and nudged her with her elbow. 

“You know you’re the official Godmother, right?”

Martha smiled, happier than Veronica had ever seen her.  

“Thank you,” Veronica sighed, addressing everyone in the room. “You’ve all made this labor extremely difficult.” She looked up at them and smiled tiredly. “I’m really happy you did, though.” 

Everyone stayed for the next hour, taking turns holding the baby and telling Veronica what a good job she did. Eventually they left, Martha back home, and Veronica’s parents to a hotel where they'd insisted on staying for a week.

When they were alone, they both exhaled loudly.

“I think we handled that pretty well,” JD said. Veronica raised her eyebrows.

“We? Who was the one who endured eight hours of torture to bring a new human into the world?”

“Pssh,” JD said. “You couldn’t have done it without me.”

Veronica’s jaw dropped and she smacked him lightly with the hand that wasn’t holding the baby. 

“I most certainly could have,” She said firmly, but softened after a moment. “But I’m really glad I didn’t have to. I’m sorry for acting like such a bitch. I was kind of stressed, if you know what I mean.”

“I know,” JD said with a huge smile, leaning in to kiss her.

When they parted, JD looked at the baby, concerned.  

“Have we decided what his last name will be?” He asked. 

“Oh, yeah,” Veronica said. “I kind of assumed it would be Sawyer.”

He frowned. “I’m his parent too!”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Alexander Dean? Come on.”

“What? It has a nice ring to it.”

“We could always hyphenate,” Veronica suggested.

“Alexander Dean-Sawyer? Sawyer-Dean? Nah, doesn’t sound right.”

Veronica thought for a moment. “How about we give him the name Dean, and if we have another one it can be Sawyer?”

JD looked at her skeptically. “Another one? You sure you wanna go through this again?”

She shrugged with a small smile. “Maybe we’ll adopt next time.” 


	10. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica tries and fails to have a successful marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok before you laugh at how utterly ridiculous this is you should know it’s based off a true story about me and my third grade boyfriend that marked the beginning of my road to low self esteem (some of this shit is word for word bc i remember that fucking day VIVIDLY) also I thought during wedding vows they said laughily wedded wife instead of lawfully so theres also that
> 
> Anyway here you go enjoy my pain

Veronica smiled proudly as she finished drawing the last of twenty envelopes with Martha and JD.

“This is gonna be so great,” she said. “Everyone’s gonna come.” 

JD examined the invitations, which weren't so much envelopes as they were folded up pieces of binder paper. On the front, in big red markets were the words “JD AND VERONICA ARE GETTING MARRIED”. 

“Why are we doing this again?” JD asked. He didn't fully understand why, or what was happening.

Veronica huffed. “We’re getting married under the monkey bars because Derek Madison and Rory McDonald did last week, and everyone went to theirs, and we have to beat them.” She handed him and Martha five letters each. 

“Give these to everyone in our class,” she instructed. “Tell them it's gonna be way better than _ Derek and Rory.”  _ she said in a mocking tone. 

“Hurry!” She demanded. “You have to give one to everyone before lunch.” 

JD and Martha went to work delivering the five they each had while Veronica handled the other ten. 

When the lunchtime bell finally rang, Veronica dashed out of class, straight to the monkey bars. 

“Okay,” she said to JD and Martha. “JD, you stand on the right, ‘cause that's where my mom says the boy stands in weddings. Martha, you stand in the middle, because you have to ask us if we wanna be husband and wife, and then we say ‘I do!’ But you have to wait til the people come.” She exhaled excitedly and stood up straight, confidently awaiting her wedding guests.

Fifteen minutes passed, and everyone she'd invited was yet to be seen.

Veronica stood nervously with her hands crossed behind her back, shifting back and forth on her feet. 

“They’ll come,” she affirmed. She tried to sound determined, but her voice was shaky. “They all got the invitations.” 

“I’m sure they will,” Martha agreed, though she didn't sound very sure at all.

JD stayed quiet and looked around the playground. It certainly didn't look like anyone was going to come. 

After about ten minutes of waiting, Veronica began to tremble.

“No one came,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes.. “Because they like stupid Derek Madison and Rory McDonald better than me.” 

“That’s not true, Veronica!” Martha said hurriedly. “They’re probably just eating their lunches.”

Veronica shook her head. “Everyone is already done eating. They just don't wanna come!”

“They’re dumb,” JD said, patting her lightly on the back. “Rory never knows any of the answers to things in class, and Derek sucks at P.E

Veronica wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m the one who was dumb for thinking people would wanna hang out with me anyway. Everyone says I’m a nerd.”

“You’re not a nerd,” JD said firmly. “My mom says nerd is just a name people use to insult kids who are smarter than them.”

Veronica sniffled. “Yeah, I know...but it still makes me sad.” 

JD stared anxiously at the ground, thinking desperately of a way to make her feel better. 

“We can still get married, you know,” he said quietly. Veronica looked at him questioningly.

“But we were only gonna do it to beat Derek and Rory.”

“Yeah, but we still can if it'll make you feel better.” He pulled the diamond stickers out of his pocket and offered them to her.

She sniffed and pulled one off, JD taking the other. Martha grinned.

“Veronica, do you take JD as your laughily wedded husband?”

“I do!” She said happily.

“JD, will you take Veronica as your laughily wedded wife?”

“I do,” JD replied.

Martha gave them the stickers, one each. JD placed his sticker on the back of Veronica’s hand, and Veronica followed suit.

“You may kiss the bride,” Martha said, trying to sound professional. “On the lips,” she teased.

“Eww,” Veronica said, wrinkling her nose. JD only felt a little bit disappointed. 

“Okay, okay, on the cheek,” she said. 

Veronica looked at the ground and quickly leaned down, pecking his cheek briefly before pulling away, wiping her mouth, but smiling nonetheless. 

“There,” he said. “We got married.”

Veronica giggled and hugged him tightly, nearly suffocating him. 

“Thanks, JD,” she said. “I’m super happy I married you.”

JD held his head down in the hope that she wouldn't see the bright red blush on his face, but smiled nonetheless. 

“I’m super happy too.”

By the end of the day, Veronica’s sticker had fallen off, completely forgotten never to be seen again. When JD noticed his own start to come off, he looked around to make sure no one could see him, and tucked it away safely in his notebook, where he swore it would stay forever. 


	11. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD's mom dies. Everything is terrible, but at least he has someone. He then proceeds to realize he's hopelessly in love with said someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooooo boi it's been a long ass time since I updated on here! I've actually already written a bunch more I just haven't posted it lol. here it is now tho!

Veronica was struggling with her English homework when she suddenly heard her mother let out a gasp so loud that it almost sounded like a scream.  
She ran downstairs, frantically touching her mother’s arm. The phone was next to her, and she was staring at it in disbelief.   
“What happened?” She asked, panicked. “Is it grandma? Is everything okay?”  
Her mother shook her head. “It’s JD’s mom,” she said softly. “She…” Mrs. Sawyer put her head in her hands, hesitant to tell Veronica what had happened out of fear that she wouldn’t be able to handle the news. “Oh god, Veronica. This is awful.”   
“Mom, what is it?” She demanded. Her mother pulled her close.  
“JD’s mother…Killed herself. Three days ago.”  
Veronica yanked away, eyes wide as baseballs.  
 _“What?”_ She cried.  
“Veronica,” her mother said, reaching out again. “It’s going to be alright.”  
Veronica shook her head furiously. “ _Three days ago?_ Why didn’t you know until now?”  
“JD’s father just called me. He said he thought you might want to know,” she said sadly. “She walked into a building right before he detonated it. By the time he saw her, it was too late.”  
Veronica ran to the coat rack and grabbed her jacket.   
“Veronica!” Her mother called. “Where are you going?”  
“To JD’s house,” she responded, as if it were obvious.  
“Veronica,” she said again, trying to get her to slow down, but Veronica was out the door before she could say anything.

* * *

 

JD heard his door open and slam against the wall and curled in on himself, sure it was his father coming in to tell him to shut up. Instead, though, he heard light footsteps running towards his bed and felt a small pair of arms wrap tightly around him. He instinctively turned around to face Veronica, burying his face in her neck and bawling on her shoulder. She was holding him tighter than she ever had, and it was the first time in three days that he felt somewhat grounded. She rubbed his back and rested her head on his, saying nothing.   
He must have cried on her for a good ten minutes before he finally pulled away, still sobbing, though slightly less than before. “Th-thanks for coming over,” he stammered through his tears.   
“Of course I came over.” She said firmly, holding his hand tightly. “I’m so, so sorry, JD.”   
He gave a small nod and squeezed her hand back, his cries subsiding for a moment.   
“I wish I could’ve come earlier, but I didn’t know. Have you been alone the last three days?”   
JD nodded.   
“Has your dad even talked to you?”  
He shook his head, and began to weep again. Veronica’s expression quickly turned angry, and she pulled him to her again, hugging him even closer than before.   
“She waved at me,” He cried. “Before she left. She smiled and waved at me through the window, and then…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.   
“I know,” Veronica said quietly. She felt tears brimming in  her own eyes, but refused to shed a single tear, willing herself to remain strong for him. “I won’t leave, okay? I’m going to stay as long as you need me to. I promise.”  
JD nodded again. He wouldn’t admit it, but he would never stop needing her.   
She continued to hold him while he cried until he eventually quieted down and yawned slightly, his exhaustion a result of the constant sobbing. He hadn’t been able to sleep since the explosion, but having Veronica with him made it easier.  
“Are you tired?” She asked. “You can sleep. I’ll stay here.”   
JD nodded and lay down. Veronica laid down with him, keeping her arms around him, holding him tightly until his breathing evened out. It was getting late, and Veronica was getting tired as well. She closed her eyes, comforted by the feeling of JD safe in her arms, and drifted off to sleep.   
When JD woke up the next morning, Veronica was behind him, curled around him as if he were an oversized teddy bear. He felt his heartbeat speed up, and for the briefest moment, he forgot about what had happened. He forgot that his life would never be the same.   
Then, he saw it. His mother behind the window. The huge, terrifying flames that engulfed her moments later, right as the building fell down with a deafening crash. He sat up with a start, his heart and head pounding.   
Veronica woke up instantly and put her hand on his back.  
“JD?” She said softly. “What happened?”   
JD shook his head and rubbed his temples, trying to ease the throbbing in his head.   
Veronica nodded understandingly. Suddenly, JD’s father opened the door, and JD could smell the alcohol on his breath from there.   
“Your parents called. Said they’d be willing to bring JD home with you. I told ‘em to go ahead, they’ll be here in a bit.” After saying that, he left the room, not bothering to close the door behind him.  
JD felt the smallest glimmer of hope, thanking the stars he wouldn’t have to stay with his father, that he’d be able to stay with Veronica. The safest place he ever felt was in her room, where everything was fine and nothing mattered.  
Veronica smiled at him. “Good. I don’t want you staying here.”   
Veronica’s parents entered the room a few minutes later, both looking both sad and sympathetic.  
“Oh, JD,” her mother said, leaning down and gently taking him into her arms. He stiffened, not sure how to respond, but let her hug him nonetheless.   
“I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice trembling. “It’ll be just fine, understand? We’re going to make sure everything works out for you.”   
“Thing are going to look up, son,” Her father said in a reassuring voice. “You’re a strong young man.”  
JD nodded gratefully, though all the attention made him a bit uncomfortable.  
“Come home with me and my mom now, and my dad’ll bring your stuff later, okay?” Veronica said, wanting to get JD out of the house as soon as she could. She helped him up, his legs trembling. She didn’t let go of his arm the entire way to the car, and still held onto it after that. “Come home with me and my mom now, and my dad’ll bring your stuff later, okay?” Veronica said, wanting to get JD out of the house as soon as she could. She helped him up, his legs trembling. She didn’t let go of his arm the entire way to the car, and still held onto it after that.   
“You can go upstairs, I’ll be there in a sec,” Veronica said reassuringly. “I’m gonna call Martha and get some things.”   
“Thanks, JD mumbled,, speaking for the first time since she got there the day before. Veronica smiled and ran off to use the phone, and JD slowly made his way up the stairs to Veronica’s room.   
Alone again, JD realized he hadn’t showered at all since he got the news. He wearily made his way to the bathroom, hoping the steam and the noise would distract him.  
He turned the water on and didn’t even wait for it to get hot before he stepped in. He washed himself over and over again, as if the cleaner he was the better he would feel. It didn’t work. After what must have been an hour, he finally turned off the water and stepped out, putting on a change of clothes he’d brought into the bathroom with him.  
Veronica was sitting  on his bed when he came back quite a while later, a bag of luggage next to her. She smiled brightly at him and patted the space next to her enthusiastically, inviting him to sit.    
“I have movies,” She said, pulling three tapes out of her bag. “Charlotte’s Web, The Aristocats, and Winnie the Pooh. Which one do you wanna watch?”  
Truthfully, JD didn’t care much for any of them; he’d never been a fan of children’s movies, despite being a child himself.   
“You can decide.” He said quietly. Veronica nodded.  
“Let’s watch Pooh. He’s always happy, right?” There was a touch of good natured sarcasm in her tone, and for the first time since she arrived, he offered the smallest of smiles. Her smile widened the second she saw it, and she hastily popped the tape into the machine and pressed play.   
“If anything’ll keep your mind off things, it’s a talking bear and his drug addiction,” she joked. JD, always the analytical one, frequently pointed out the adult undertones in different books and movies, much to Veronica and  
Martha’s dismay.  
 _“God, JD, Pooh does not have a drug addiction!”_ Veronica used to insist.   
_“Whatever keeps your favorites pure,”_ He would say sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders with a smug smile. His snarkiness always irritated her, but now she wished he had it in him to joke like that.   
She sat next to him on the bed and put her arm around him as the movie started to play. JD wasn’t the least bit interested, but it was a good distraction, and having Veronica with him, holding him and talking to him made everything far more bearable than it had been before she came.   
“You don’t have to do all this,” JD said quietly.   
Veronica turned her head and met his eyes sternly.   
“You’re my best friend in the whole world,” she said. “You and Martha. I’d do anything for you. There’s no way I’m leaving.”   
JD nodded wearily and leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. He was far too exhausted to shed any more tears, but he still felt an incredible, painful weight on his chest. Veronica was the only thing keeping him from collapsing completely.   
Martha came over later that day, tears brimming in her eyes. She gave JD a huge hug, and he realized it was the first time she ever did so. He hugged her back gratefully, suddenly extremely relieved that she was there.   
“I brought snacks,” she said, sniffling and pulling some things out of her bag. “My mom let me bring cookies! I just had to promise her I’d only eat one. But you guys can have as many as you want.”  
“Thanks, Martha, Veronica said, taking her hand and smiling thankfully.   
Martha and Veronica ended up eating most of the cookies, though Veronica tried relentlessly to get JD to eat one until he finally gave in and ate half of one to satisfy her despite the fact that he had no appetite at all. Martha looked guilty after, but Veronica squeezed her shoulder and assured her that cookies were one of the best things in the world and that there was nothing wrong with eating them.   
JD had always noticed and admired Veronica’s strong, almost stubborn kindness. No matter what, she was relentlessly determined to be as good to people as she could, unless of course they weren’t being good or kind themselves.   
However, he hadn’t realized the gravity of his feelings for her until now. He’d always had a bit of a crush; he’d always wanted to know what it would be like to kiss her, and always liked holding her hand and loved being around her in general, but that changed when he lost his mom. She was there for him the second she found out, and refused to leave until he was well enough to go back to school. Once there, she never left his side unless it was to go to class. He started to really notice things about her that he’d never noticed before; how endearing her awkward laugh was, how ridiculously excited she got about certain thing things, and how serious and focused she was about other things. How she always stood up for what she believes in, never backing down. How she always, always put other people’s needs before her own. He even adored her constant optimism, despite being such a pessimist himself. He knew she was like that before, and he’d always admired her for it, but now he realized just how intense his feelings for her were. One day, sitting in the cafeteria, it dawned on him. He was in love with her.   
Of course, he was only a child, barely hitting puberty. His feelings weren’t as mature as an adult’s would be, but he knew, without a doubt, that he loved her more than anything in the world. That he would do anything for her.   
Along with this realization, however, came an unfortunate, unavoidable ache. He hadn’t ever thought about romance before her, and he knew right away that he’d never be able to love anyone but her.   
He decided he’d have to accept the fact that she’d likely never see him as anything but a best friend, and told himself that was enough. He could still hug her, still be around her and see her laugh and smile and do everything that made her _Veronica._   
With his mother gone, Veronica was essentially the only thing left in the world that he truly loved. It was for that exact reason he couldn’t confess his feelings; if he lost her, he’d have nothing.  
JD stayed at Veronica’s house for the next two weeks, and she almost never left his side. Neither one had gone to school; Veronica’s parents talked their teacher into letting them do their schoolwork at home for a week. It made sense, considering they were only in fifth grade. Eventually, however, they had to go back to school, and JD had to go back home. He and Veronica both dreaded it. When her parents dropped him off on Sunday evening, Veronica walked with him to his front porch and pulled him into a crushing hug.   
“You’ll be fine, okay?” Veronica said, resisting the urge to tear up. JD, on the other hand, felt like his eyes had dried out after almost two weeks of nonstop crying.  
“Okay,” he said quietly, nodding. She hugged him one last time before reluctantly letting go, waving as he closed the door behind him.  
They both had a sinking feeling in their stomachs, knowing that being at home with his father would make everything infinitely more difficult. They were both just glad he wasn’t alone; if he was, there was no telling how much it would have damaged him permanently. The fact that he had her, that he was able to meet her before tragedy struck, was something they would always be grateful for.


	12. Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freshman fetus JD and Veronica ditch school to go to an apple orchard and it doesn't end well for anyone

_“Al-most-there_ ,” Veronica grunted through clenched teeth, reaching as high as she possibly could. She was sitting on JD’s shoulder’s, stretching her arm out as far as she could in an attempt to pick what had to be the most perfect apple she’d ever seen.

They were a month into their freshman year of high school, and already they were ten times more miserable than they were in middle school. Fortunately, Westerburg had an open campus policy, so they could leave whenever they wanted as long as they were careful. Normally, Veronica would be against skipping school, but it was a Friday, and the weather was perfect for autumn; chilly, but with a deep blue sky and a sun that made the world look golden. So, with some minor nudging from JD, she decided to leave campus and walk over the an apple orchard close by. 

While JD had been planning to relax and revel in the fact that he finally has the freedom to leave school when he wanted, Veronica brightened as soon as she saw all the tall, red leafed apple trees scattered across the grassy field and insisted they pick some.

“Let’s just pick a few,” she’d suggested. “Just enough to carry in our backpacks, okay?” 

JD gave in (because he gave in to everything she wanted) and ended up leaning his hands against the narrow tree trunk for support, with Veronica on his shoulders and his legs trembling.

“Veronica,” he said desperately. “Just pick a lower one!”

"No,” she grunted. “This is the one.” 

While her stubborn determination was a quality JD admired in Veronica, it was also one that he cursed on occasion. 

Gritting her teeth and stretching out as far as she could, she finally grabbed the apple and yanked it off the branch.   
“Yes!” She shouted. Unfortunately, she moved down to fast once the apple was in her hand, causing JD to lose his balance and sending them both tumbling to the ground. 

They screamed as they fell, the apple flying out of Veronica’s hand. 

They groaned loudly, and JD was sure he’d have bruises in places he didn’t even know could be bruised. Veronica tried to sit up, but let out a sharp yelp as she did so.   
Sitting up as quickly as he could, JD took Veronica’s arm to help her up, but she cried out again. He pulled back and sat down next to her, gently touching her shoulder. 

“Everything good?”

She shook her head and looked like she was trying not to cry.

“There’s something wrong with my arm,” she whined. “I think I broke it.” 

JD’s eyes widened. “Crap, really?”

Veronica nodded, eyes squeezed shut.

“Shit,” JD said under his breath, weighing their options. They could go back to school for help and get caught, or they could find some way to get to a hospital. There were no taxis in Sherwood, and the nearest hospital was over three miles away. 

“We have to go back to school,” he said grimly. “Can you walk?” Veronica groaned, both in pain as well as disappointment.

He helped her up by her good arm, wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her. She was biting her lip hard, clearly trying to stop herself from crying out in agony.

She looked down at the apple that flew out of her hand. On the side she couldn’t see when it was hanging from the tree, there was a giant hole with a worm writhing around in it. 

“You’re joking,” she whined. 

“I guess this is karma for ditching class,” JD sighed. “Now we have to go back and face the wrath of the great and terrible Principal Gowan.” 

Veronica buried her face in the space between JD’s neck and shoulder and whined miserably. 

“I better ace my next chem exam, now that I’ve already paid for my wrongdoing.”   
JD picked up both of their backpacks and slung them over his shoulder. It was heavy, but it paled in comparison to the terribly pain Veronica was feeling. 

“Sure hope so,” he responded grimly.


	13. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The very beginning. JD's first day of school, and his first friend.

  
For a seven year old, Jason Dean had a ridiculous amount of social paranoia. He’d never really had any friends as a result of being homeschooled his entire life, and had no idea how to interact with kids his own age. He wasn’t terribly isolated - his mother had raised him well, and her friends were always excited to dote on him (to his great displeasure). Still, when it came to his peers, he was lost completely.

The second he got out of the car, his stomach twisted into a knot. He turned around and gave his mother a pleading stare, silently begging her not to make him go.

“You’ll be fine.” She said firmly. “Just relax and learn as much as you can, okay? Don’t worry about anything else.” She kissed his forehead and smiled at him as a teacher came to take his hand and show him around. “I’ll pick you up at two.” She got back into the car and drove away, waving at him through the window as she did so. He waved back pathetically, trying his best not to cry. His dad always warned him that showing was the easiest way to become a target, so he set his jaw and walked as straight as he could as the teacher guided him to his classroom.

As soon as he walked in, he was overwhelmed by the amount of children and noise in the room. There were at least twenty five students his age, all laughing and playing loudly. He’d never been one for playgrounds, so to see this many children at once was shocking, to say the least. Still, he did his best to block it out and focus on his teacher showing him his cubby and explaining the classroom rules. Truthfully, he didn’t hear much of what she was saying through the noise, but he was able to grasp the basics; No sugary snacks, no talking out of turn, no disrespectful words, etcetera. When she was finished, she ushered him into the middle of the room in an attempt to encourage him to socialize before walking off, leaving him alone in what felt like a zoo of children.

He made his way to the far corner of the room, near the bookshelf, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. He brightened slightly when he saw how many books there were, and hoped that he could find one that would distract him from the pandemonium around him.

He was scanning the bookshelf when he was suddenly knocked over by someone’s body slamming into his. He grunted in annoyance as he turned to face the perpetrator - a girl his age with dark, poorly cut hair and a sweater that was far too big for her.

“Sorry, sorry!” She cried, reaching a hand out to help him up. He examined her cautiously before taking her hand and standing. She was a solid five inches taller than him, and her face was flushed from running around so much. Behind her was a shorter, chubbier girl with a nervous smile and a brightly colored t shirt covered with pictures of flying horses.

“Are you okay? Me and Martha were playing tag but I looked behind me, which you aren’t supposed to do when you’re running, because it’s dangerous. Also, we aren’t supposed to run in the class, but I don’t think teacher saw, so we won’t get in trouble. Anyway. What’s your name?” She said all of this in one breath, and JD had to stare at her for a moment, processing everything he’d heard.

“Jason Dean,” He said, reciting what he’d been practicing in his head all morning. “JD for short.”

The girl furrowed her brow. “But JD has as many syllables as Jason. See, look, _Jay-Son_ ” she said, clapping her hands together on each syllable. “And _Jay-Dee_. So why don’t you just say your name is Jason?”

JD shrugged, not having prepared himself for any further social interaction aside from his name. He actually wasn’t sure why he went by his initials - He simply always had.

“Never mind, I’ll call you JD if you want. I’m Veronica, and this is Martha. She’s my best friend.” She slung an arm around Martha’s shoulders, as if to prove her point. “Are you new?”

He nodded silently. He felt his nerves tingling in his stomach again; he hadn’t expected to actually have a conversation with anyone. Still, this girl - Veronica - made him feel slightly better, with her choppy hair and ridiculous sweater and red face. She had a sense of warmth about her, and though he couldn’t exactly describe it, it was comforting nonetheless.

She stared at him for a moment as if expecting him to speak, but shrugged her shoulders casually when he remained quiet.

“Well, me and Martha normally play by the slide at recess. You should come play with us! We need another person because we’re playing pirates and two people isn’t enough for a crew. You can pick who you want to be.” She smiled at him and walked off, Martha following quickly behind.

He was confused - the entire interaction had happened fairly quickly, but he couldn’t help but feel relieved that he’d already met a potential friend. A real friend, who he could play with, and talk to, who might actually be able to understand him. It was a bit frightening, but he still felt a small burst of excitement at the thought of it.

The first part of his day was uneventful. The teacher handed out papers for their parents to sign, explained what they would be doing over the course of the year, and gave them all a paper in which they were asked to write five things about themselves. JD decided to simply write the obvious - He was seven years old, homeschooled his entire life, he had a mother and a father (that counted for two of the five) and he liked to read. They also played some ice breaker games, but none of the other students were as welcoming as Veronica, instead choosing to say the bare minimum required of them before moving on to the next person.

Eventually, lunch time came, and before he could even get his lunch from his cubby, Veronica was tugging on his sleeve.

“Are you gonna play with us?” She asked excitedly. He looked back at his backpack; he was hungry, but he was in no position to turn down an invitation to make friends.

He nodded, and Veronica gave a grin that took up her entire face. It made JD feel a strange tightness in his chest, but he shook it off quickly, following her out to the playground.

JD followed hastily beside Martha after Veronica, who practically sprinted to the slide.

When they arrived, however, they saw a group of three boys standing there, pushing each other around and yelling friendly insults at one another. Veronica marched up beside them, beckoning Martha and JD over. When the boys saw them, their smiles quickly turned into unfriendly sneers.

“We’re playing here today,” One boy said. “You guys can go over to the swing set.”

“You’ll probably get kicked in the head, though,” Another boy said in a mocking tone, causing his two friends to laugh.

Veronica stood tall, a determined expression on her face. “The playground is for everyone. We can play here if we want.”

“No you can’t, we called it.” He turned glare to JD, eyes narrowing. “Who’re you?”

JD’s stomach was in knots, but he kept his posture and spoke clearly and calmly. “Jason Dean. JD for short.”

“Short like you?” The tallest boy teased. His friends all burst out laughing, and JD straightened his back as much as he could. His mother always promised him he’d have a growth spurt, and he could only pray it come as soon as possible.

“We should call you Jason Bean, because you’re so small,” the boy taunted.

“Hey!” Veronica shouted. “That’s bullying. I’m gonna tell Miss Lopez.”

“Tattle tail!” The boys shouted at her, still laughing.

“I am not a tattle tail!” She was growing increasingly angry, and although she was clearly trying to look intimidating, her glower looked more like a pout, and with her arms crossed in front of her made her look more like an angry kitten than a lion. 

“Then go play somewhere else! And take your midget boyfriend and Martha _Dumptruck_ with you”

Veronica looked shocked for a moment before her expression turned absolutely furious. _Now_ she looked frightening.

“I’m gonna kill you!” She yelled as she launched herself towards the leader, tackling him to the ground. He grunted and tried to push her off, but suddenly let out a piercing scream.

“She’s biting me! Get her off!” Instead of moving, however, his groupies simply stared in shock.

Several teachers rushed over, grabbing Veronica and pulling her off of him.

“What on earth is going on here?” One of the teachers shouted.

“Veronica bit me!” The boy cried. He was tearing up, and his neck was bleeding where she bit him. JD was impressed, to say the least.

“He was being a big bully,” Veronica said firmly. The boy started heaving, tears running down his face.

Though he tried his best to suppress it, JD couldn’t help the chuckles that escaped his throat. Veronica whipped her head over to him, her glare quickly turning into a grin. She started giggling along with him until they were both laughing hysterically together, further angering the teachers.

"Principals office, _now_ ,” one of them said harshly, grabbing Veronica’s arm and leading her to the main building.

JD hardly knew anything about Veronica, or even friendship in general, but he knew he most definitely wanted her as a friend.  
He just hoped she didn’t get expelled on the first day they met.


End file.
